glassner (03/01/83)
A while back on net.physics there was a discussion on the "most proper" procedure to follow when you're outside and caught in a rainstorm. I was in a similar-but-different kind of situation last night. I worked here in the computer room until about 5am, when I decided to head back to my dorm and catch a couple of hours of sleep before classes. We're located in an urban part of Cleveland very near to where the famous "Hough riots" occured several years ago. The neighborhood is not very good; in fact three years ago my girlfriend-at-the-time and I were held up at gunpoint no more than 100 yards from the dormitories. I wasn't concerned, though, as I walked back to the dorm last night, until I heard a gunshot from ahead of me. I know how backfiring cars sound, and I know how gunshots sound, and in the quiet early morning there was no mistaking that crackle of violent sound. As I approached the dorms I heard some people talking and laughing loudly, and I heard a rifle being cocked. Now, I don't know how far away this all was from where I was walking, but there were no sounds at all at this time and the noise carried clearly to me. Needless to say, I was pretty scared. I imagined myself snug in my bed and started to walk faster, willing my head and eyes not to look around to find the source of the noise. The shouting men sounded like they were closer to me as I walked, and despite my most positive thinking I was really frightened. As I got closer to my dorm I tried to think of the best strategy to take. I had to cross several open spaces to get to the dorm - or to any of the dorms, and there was absolutely no one else around except me and these mystery voices who I had by now completely associated with the gunshot. It seemed reasonable that if they were looking to scare me and thought that they might shoot near me for fun they might miss and hit me, which I didn't want to have happen. So the best thing to do would be to walk along nonchalantly and not tempt them to have some fun at my expense. However, if they were loonies or had just really shot someone (not an uncommon occurance; there are reports in the paper daily) then they might be pretty wacked-out and unpredictable. Perhaps they would want to get rid of anyone they saw immediately after the gunshot in a paranoid fear of capture. So if they hadn't seen me yet the best course of action would be to run quietly but as quickly as possible to the dorms and inside. Walk or run? I didn't really think more about it, my legs started to go and I ran for the dorms. But I tried to optimize my chances by occasionally staggering in strange directions and changing my course. Once I got to the dorms I ran in and upstairs, and didn't really feel safe again until I was inside my room. What do you think? Was that the right thing to do? I know that the whole thing sounds paranoid, but when you're in a dangerous neighborhood and in this kind of situation you think more about survival than looking foolish. What would you do? -Andrew
steve (03/08/83)
#R:cwruecmp:-53000:zinfandel:8200032:000:61 zinfandel!steve Mar 3 17:05:00 1983 Let me guess, you're on the Case Western recruiting staff???
nyles (03/08/83)
#R:cwruecmp:-53000:zinfandel:8200036:000:540 zinfandel!nyles Mar 4 00:19:00 1983 How about the best of both worlds: a Kevlar running suit? Seriously, if you had a good headstart on those bozos, and had a very good chance at making the dorm before an Olympic sprinter (don't worry, drunks normally don't run too fast), you did exactly the right thing. Another solution would have been to scram to the nearest protected phone booth and call the police. That type of thing is their job, right? Given a choice between safe or silly, the choice should be obvious. Save your skin. Lord Morgon (zinfandel!nyles)
furuta (03/09/83)
Personally, given the circumstances, I'd either give up working at the computer center until 5 in the morning or I'd try to figure out how to get the money to buy a terminal and modem. Given that you'd been held up at gunpoint before the incident, I think I'd also loudly complain to the University (or is it the "Reserve" in this case) and demand that they either step up security or that they arrange some way for those of you who need to use the computers to do so without risking your skin (for example, setting up terminals in the dorm). I think you should also have called the police once you got into the dorm.
jacobson (03/14/83)
#R:cwruecmp:-53000:uiucdcs:10600079:000:401 uiucdcs!jacobson Mar 12 21:59:00 1983 Having spent most of my life on the South Side of Chicago and never been held up, I must be doing something right. (I am a young (attractive) woman.) Whenever I find myself in a scary situation, I attempt to project the most self-assured image possible. This includes looking straight ahead and NOT running. I think running should be resorted to ONLY if you are certain that someone is after YOU.